Been thinking recently….
Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson are both examples of individuals who started their careers with miniscule budgets. One went from “The Evil Dead” to “Spiderman”, the other went from “Bad Taste” to “Lord Of The Rings”. Of course, this is way beyond most of our wildest dreams. But there are people out there who have, more recently (in the current digital age), started making films with nothing and gone on to make pretty nice careers for themselves.
(I’m a horror fan through and through (hence the mention of Raimi and Jackson above, as opposed to, say, Christopher Nolan or Robert Rodriguez), so the couple of examples I have below fall squarely into that genre. If people can think of any other good examples outside of horror, feel free to list them.)
Adam Wingard made “Pop Skull” for $2,000. Of course, before that he made “Home Sick”, but that didn’t turn out so well. “Pop Skull” was really the jumping off point for his career. That then led on to “A Horrible Way To Die”, and he’s since gone on to make segments for “VHS”, “VHS 2” and “The ABC’s Of Death”. Most successfully, though, he made last years “You’re Next” (produced in 2011, but not released until 2013). The success of “You’re Next” will no doubt lead him on to bigger (meaning bigger budget) projects. And I LOVED “You’re Next”…
However, the most appropriate for my own goals would have to be the Soska Sisters. They made “Dead Hooker In A Trunk” for around $2,500. It’s a fun little film that gained them a lot of attention. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s enjoyable. This must’ve given them the confidence to raise the money (allegedly, by re-mortgaging their parents house) to produce “American Mary”. This movie gained them (at least some) critical acclaim (along with an extended fan base). Since then, they have directed “See No Evil 2”, a film which, although being produced (by WWE) for the DVD market, will no doubt have had a reasonable budget and paid them well. They’ve also been assigned a short for “The ABC’s Of Death 2”. Of course, the Soska’s themselves are very marketable people, especially to a horror audience. Something which very few of us could also claim.
Regardless, that’s what I’m aiming for; a Soska style, no-budget career path. Slowly build up the budgets and (basically) hope for the best. And making something like “Dead Hooker…” isn’t out of the realms of possibility for any of us. Having it catch on and gain the kind of attention it did is another matter entirely.
Now I just need to actually make my own “Dead Hooker…”
What are the chances?
Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson are both examples of individuals who started their careers with miniscule budgets. One went from “The Evil Dead” to “Spiderman”, the other went from “Bad Taste” to “Lord Of The Rings”. Of course, this is way beyond most of our wildest dreams. But there are people out there who have, more recently (in the current digital age), started making films with nothing and gone on to make pretty nice careers for themselves.
(I’m a horror fan through and through (hence the mention of Raimi and Jackson above, as opposed to, say, Christopher Nolan or Robert Rodriguez), so the couple of examples I have below fall squarely into that genre. If people can think of any other good examples outside of horror, feel free to list them.)
Adam Wingard made “Pop Skull” for $2,000. Of course, before that he made “Home Sick”, but that didn’t turn out so well. “Pop Skull” was really the jumping off point for his career. That then led on to “A Horrible Way To Die”, and he’s since gone on to make segments for “VHS”, “VHS 2” and “The ABC’s Of Death”. Most successfully, though, he made last years “You’re Next” (produced in 2011, but not released until 2013). The success of “You’re Next” will no doubt lead him on to bigger (meaning bigger budget) projects. And I LOVED “You’re Next”…
However, the most appropriate for my own goals would have to be the Soska Sisters. They made “Dead Hooker In A Trunk” for around $2,500. It’s a fun little film that gained them a lot of attention. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s enjoyable. This must’ve given them the confidence to raise the money (allegedly, by re-mortgaging their parents house) to produce “American Mary”. This movie gained them (at least some) critical acclaim (along with an extended fan base). Since then, they have directed “See No Evil 2”, a film which, although being produced (by WWE) for the DVD market, will no doubt have had a reasonable budget and paid them well. They’ve also been assigned a short for “The ABC’s Of Death 2”. Of course, the Soska’s themselves are very marketable people, especially to a horror audience. Something which very few of us could also claim.
Regardless, that’s what I’m aiming for; a Soska style, no-budget career path. Slowly build up the budgets and (basically) hope for the best. And making something like “Dead Hooker…” isn’t out of the realms of possibility for any of us. Having it catch on and gain the kind of attention it did is another matter entirely.
Now I just need to actually make my own “Dead Hooker…”
What are the chances?
